Madrid Teacher: E-reader

Five Madrid Teachers discuss e-books. As usual, that gives us an opportunity to draw our attention to the way they talk.

First of all, watch the video through, so that you can get the gist of what the conversation is about.

Now watch the video more carefully, paying attention to the following:

• Use of so as a connector.
• Use of vague language: kind of; or something like that
• Involving listeners in the conversation: What do you think?
• Use of what about? to ask for information
• Use of really to emphasize the adjective
• Conversation fillers to gain thinking time: You know
• Showing agreement: That's true; yeah
• Reacting to what the other person has said: That's disappointing
• Use of I mean to paraphrase what you have just said and make yourself clear

Now it's over to you. If possible, get together with a friend or relative and talk about e-books. How do you feel about them? Do you own one? Are they expensive? What different models can you find in the model? What are the advantages and disadvantages of e-books compared to paper books?

In your discussion, don't forget to use some of the features of spoken English we have revised today.

So I’ve just received a new reader for my birthday and I can't decide if I like it or not. I’m kinda used to the paperbacks, but this might be a good concept. What do you think?
But have you started using it and…
Yeah, I've used it once or twice on the Metro but…
Ok
I kinda miss my paperback books.
Yeah.
What about the type, can you change the size of the type?
Yeah, it can be bigger or smaller depending on what you want.
Okay, because I’ve seen people reading on the subway or the metro and it’s really, really small. I wonder, you know, is there squinting away possibly…
And with the movement of the metro…
Yeah.
You lose your…
How many books can you fit on an e-reader?
I don't know exactly, but a lot from what I hear. That's great for traveling, it’s… I read so quickly that you can go from one booked to another.
That’s true.
Yeah.
What about the classics?
They have those, but what I heard they don't have is a lot of the old books that weren't quite so popular. They have all the modern-day bestsellers, but not so many of the old ones.
That’s disappointing.
Yeah.
Do you have to download any book that you would like to read or…
How does it work exactly, because you bought them, I mean, someone gave you the machine and is that, you downloaded the book you wanted in it?
Yeah, you download it. You can search for which ones you want and…
Do you have to buy each one?
Yeah, you know I’m not sure.
You must be able to buy it on Amazon or something like that, right?
Or maybe just download the document and open them as a PDF or Word.
But you have to pay for that.
Do you know about that?
Not entirely.
It’s also new.
It’s just a new present.
What are you reading at the moment?
I had a friend who was an author and we were going scuba-diving, we ended up bringing the e-reader in the car, and it was great because he could read his novel, and correct it and… I thought it was amazing, I‘d love to get one.
It is a cool concept, I'm still in the transition.
We’ll have to check yours out.
Yeah, but there’s nothing like paper.
What if it’s water proof.
Yes.
So we can read.
That would be good.